New York, June 15, 2026, 10:02 (ET)
- Robinhood’s U.S. app was downloaded 44,259 times on Friday, according to Apptopia data cited by Seeking Alpha.
- SpaceX started trading on Nasdaq as SPCX. The shares rose out of the gate.
- Robinhood said some users faced slowdowns and patchy service during the surge.
Robinhood saw a jump to 44,259 U.S. app downloads on Friday, when SpaceX started public trading, according to Apptopia data cited by Seeking Alpha. That figure is 65% higher than Robinhood’s best day for downloads in the past six weeks. The total was also about double the average daily downloads for April and May.
SPCX’s Nasdaq debut got bumpy, as a trading wave for SpaceX shares on June 12 sent Robinhood traffic soaring. TechCrunch reported Robinhood’s traffic hit a record as the SpaceX IPO opened. Users saw trading delays and patchy service on the platform before systems recovered.
Robinhood issues weren’t limited to company statements. Engadget reported Downdetector got more than 5,500 outage reports Friday morning. Users took to Reddit and X, complaining. The spike in volume came as retail traders piled into SPCX at its anticipated debut.
SpaceX’s entry to the market is pushing trading platforms to move faster. Reuters reported Monday that shares gained more than 6% before the bell after closing up 19% in their first Nasdaq session Friday, sending SpaceX valuation past $2 trillion. According to Vanda Research data shared with Reuters, retail buyers snapped up $117.6 million of SpaceX shares that day, making it the most popular retail trade of the session.
Reuters quoted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor: “While most obviously a space-related company, it is also being seen as something of an AI proxy given its exposure to xAI.” Traders looking for AI bets are joining in, not just space-focused investors. Demand is higher on platforms like Robinhood as the bid keeps coming from those chasing AI names.
Retail investors are running into trouble getting out of hot IPO trades. Reuters says platforms like Fidelity, Robinhood, E*TRADE and SoFi put limits that can lock up IPO shares for 15 to 30 days, blocking investors from selling right off. Users who unload early might get shut out of future IPOs. On Robinhood, the SpaceX frenzy set off fresh downloads of the app and strained systems as trading spiked.
